Citation

Ditzler TF, Hubner M, Batzer WB. Australas. J. Hum. Secur. 2005; 1(1): 5.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Egan-Reid)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

In armed conflict around the globe, children bear a disproportionate amount of suffering. In nearly 50 nations, children are routinely killed, tortured, sexually assaulted, and displaced as part of the tragic legacy of conflict. In the last ten years of the twentieth century, the toll on children is mind numbing: 2 million killed, 6 million disabled, 12 million homeless, 1 million orphaned, at least 10 million psychologically traumatised. There are currently at least 20 million children who have become displaced within or outside their home countries. Each month, approximately 800 children are killed or maimed by land mines (UNICEF 2004). The conflicts that have precipitated these tragedies are usually not the international geopolitical conflicts of the past, waged with professionally trained soldiers across national borders. They are internal conflicts, fought with informal militias, private warlord armies or simply roving bands of armed aggressors operating in anarchic environments with no meaningful accountability or leadership. Estimates put the proportion of civilian casualties in these ongoing conflicts at up to 90 per cent, many of whom are women and children (McManimon 1999).

Language: en